Notes: Naruto and its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This story may contain spoilers.

~1/18/2016~ This story is undergoing revision and some things in this chapter have been changed accordingly.

Regarding the story: When I first wrote this we hadn't had too much of an idea of what Shisui was like, we just got glimpses. We still don't know exactly except for how he was in fillers, video games, etc. We find he was sort of playful. Definitely now how overly obnoxious he can be in this story. I won't change how Shisui is exactly but from not on I will take in account to how he is in "canon" (if you consider said material to be canon)

Beta: No beta, so many apologies for any mistakes.

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It was still dark outside when he woke. The moon hung low and the crickets still sung their song of slumber. He typically did not wake up this early unless he had to train or a mission called for it, but the Hokage had requested his team in and thus he had awoken early.

At one point, many of their missions had started at this time, but his cousin, Shisui, begged the Hokage for assignments that did not begin so early. In all honestly, Itachi was also glad for later missions because they usually got him out of attending clan meetings. If he has to hear the elders insist he get a wife and reproduce when he was still young and spry one more time, he may just have to flee from Konoha and become a missing nin.

Not that he ever will, but at times it was tempting.

Itachi slid the shoji door of his room open when the faint glow of the kitchen light tows him in. He probes further into his home and found his father drinking tea alone at their dining table. Fugaku looked up, his obsidian eyes meets his own. The older man's expression is almost unreadable but he hold his gaze.

"Itachi." The older Uchiha speaks, disrupting their brief staring contest. "Sit."

Knowing that he has more than enough time before he needed to report to the Hokage, Itachi inclines his head in kind gesture and sits down at the low table across from his father. Unless it is necessary, he and his father only share few words. Fugaku is proud of his achievements, Itachi knows that much. Not only had he become the youngest ANBU member in history, but he is the only member of the clan to join Konoha's elite shinobi. Because he's been accepted into ANBU, the clan's elders dubbed him as lead candidate for future leader of the clan. Unlike most clans, the Uchiha clan want their members to prove their worth and basically fight for the position. Truth be told, he could care less about being the clan heir. He was perfectly content with the idea of protecting others without ordering them around.

If there was anyone who should become leader of the clan, it was Shisui. Not only was he a skilled shinobi but he was also very spirited. His cousin could speak to anyone and win them over with his charm. Shisui was just born to lead. It really made no sense to pick anyone else.

Of course when Itachi voiced this opinion to his father, the older Uchiha was not happy about it. Fugaku continued to urge him to show the elders that he should be the rightful Clan head, in turn, Itachi picked up more missions to avoid his father's demands. As far as he could tell, Fugaku did not realize the reason he was suddenly on so many missions was to avoid him.

The older man was aware that his eldest son's frequent absence sparked concern within the clan elders and soon he started focusing his attention elsewhere. His father's dreams that were once pinned on him now fell on Sasuke. It was the reason their father urged Sasuke to enter the Force at thirteen and as far as his father was concerned, Sasuke showed more dedication to the clan than Itachi ever had.

Itachi sighs inwardly. The last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to feel the stress he had pinned on him his entire life. Much to his surprise, however, Sasuke had shown a genuine interest in being the clan head and so Itachi decided to stay out of it. If it made his brother happy then he would accept the idea, even if he didn't like it.

"Are you reporting to the Hokage this morning?" The twin lines that slashed down his face had become more prominent due to age and stress. Itachi had inherited these similar grooves on his own face, and briefly wondered if his would one day deepen like his fathers.

"Yes." He answers immediately.

The older Uchiha nods before walking over to the kitchen and grabbing an extra porcelain teacup. He returns to the table and pours the hot tea from the kettle into the blue porcelain cup. The stern expression etched on his father's face softens a bit and with two hands, he hands the porcelain to Itachi. The interaction seems foreign. His father hardly speaks to him lest invites him for a cup of tea. There is something on the older Uchiha's mind. Itachi knows that much, but what, is unclear.

With both hands Itachi brings the ceramic cup to his mouth. He sips on the tea, instinctively closing his eyes as he savors the hot, minty beverage. His father's tea is some of the best he's had ever had. Admittedly it is better than his mother's, but that is something he will never tell her.

"I didn't get to speak to you after our announcement." His father says. It was true, after Sasuke's gathering, he has barely seen his family at all. "What do you make of it?"

Itachi sets his teacup down with a clink and fixes his gaze on the man before him. A few thoughts occur to him. Since the particular news about Sasuke's promotion, the possibility that some clan members may cause problems kept knocking at the back of his mind. He has a nagging feeling that there is some kind of problem. Surely if enough members are angry about it, it will cause a divide between the clan. But Itachi decides not to say such thing. Not yet, anyway. It would be best to wait to see where his father steers the conversation before saying anything.

"I think the promotion is well deserved." He answers with practice ease, making sure not to reveal there are other thoughts swirling in his mind.

"That is all?" Fugaku studies him, searching for any crease or wrinkle in his brow that suggests there is something hidden behind his answer.

"Is there something you would like me to say?" Itachi asks, waiting for his father to come out with some expected revelation. He has an inkling that someone has stressed to his father that promoting Sasuke might prove to be problematic.

"I am just curious what you think of your brother being promoted to such a position at his age."

"Are you questioning your decision?"

"I am not. Sasuke is the perfect choice to not only take the position but to lead this clan." His father snaps. It's clear he is indirectly referring that Sasuke was the better choice and not he. Though from the sudden shift in his temper, he has a notion that his father does not actually believe that was so.

"There may be some members of the clan who are not willing to accept this decision." He replies reluctantly. Although he wanted to investigate his clansmen's actions on his own, he knew he would have to speak to Fugaku eventually. He may as well do it when his father offers him the opportunity. After all, he wasn't one to usually begin conversations with people, especially his father.

"I thought so too." The older Uchiha pauses for a moment and for the first time in his life, Itachi witnesses something unfamiliar cross his father's features. Worry. It was so fleeting, had it been anyone untrained in reading people, they wouldn't have noticed.

"Perhaps you should talk to Sasuke about this matter." Itachi suggests.

"You are my eldest son," He hestitates, "...and I value your input." His father's expressions shows he's regretful of his words.

Itachi nods. As he surmised, he was not the only one who had received word that the clan members were not happy with his father's choice. If the clan had a problem with his little brother then they would have deal with him. He wouldn't let anyone harm Sasuke in any way and would eliminate any threat, even if it were a member of his own clan.

Once the conversation had steered into this direction, Itachi knew the discussion they were having was over. He feels relieved he has to depart for the meeting with the Yodaime. The relationship he has with his father was so strained, it's exhausting being in his presence.

"I must set off." Itachi announces and his father nods absentmindedly. With that, he strolled out of the room, leaving his the older Uchiha to his thoughts.

Shisui waits outside of Itachi's home for what seems to be an eternity. Finally after some time, his cousin emerges from the house, looking as stoic as ever. The pair sprints off in the direction of the Hokage tower. Moments later, they reach their destination.

He and Itachi enter the vibrant, red building where they find Muta is waiting for them indoors. The trio walk silently up the flight of stairs until they reach the Hokage's office.

Minato is sitting behind his wooden desk, looking up momentarily from his paperwork to greet them. The trio stands before him and he briefs them about their meeting.

"How is Migaki?" the Hokage queries, to which Muta replies.

"He is still recovering. The poison affected him worse than we originally thought."

The Yondaime nods thoughtfully. "I was afraid that might have been the case. I read his report and it indicated such a result." He opens the drawer of his desk and hands a file to Itachi. "That is a list of medics that have applied for an opening if there was ever one in ANBU. I trust you and your team can make its own decision in finding a medic, Itachi."

"Yes, Hokage." Itachi answers respectfully. "Have you received any additional information about the disappearances?"

"Jiraiya has sent confirmation that it's not just our country dealing with this terrible situation." Minato frowns slightly. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to send your squad out until you secure a medic. Since the situation out there is still unknown, we can't risk anything happening to any of you."

The whole situation is very odd. It was understandable to kidnap shinobi but why so many civilians were taken was almost unexplainable. Shisui wonders if the Nara genius had come up with any theories regarding the situation. With his and Itachi's intellect they surely should be able to come up with something.

The Hokage continues. "The medic you choose will accompany your squad until Migaki is well enough to return to active duty. You have until tomorrow to make a decision."

"Yes, Hokage." The trio answers in unison. They bow in respect and leave the building.

By the time the meeting had finished, the sun had already begun to rise. Deciding they were hungry and needed to make a decision about a medic soon, they ambled towards a restaurant a short distance from the Hokage tower.

Shisui eyes the folder Itachi gripped loosely in his hand. They needed to secure a medic and he knew Sasuke's pink-haired teammate was regarded as one of the best in the village. He smirks. The opportunity to bring Itachi and Sasuke's teammate together was coming along easier than he could ever imagine.

He remembered the night his cousin had defended the pink-haired kunoichi. It was so uncharacteristic of Itachi that he felt he was more than right about pushing the two together. Granted he thought he was right about all of the girls he introduced Itachi to, but this was different. He was certain this time! How did that saying go, again? Third, no, sixth time's a charm. This would be the sixth time he would set Itachi up with someone, it was bound to work out this time! It was terrible Migaki had gotten injured but really this had to be set up by the gods. The first step in his plan presented itself wrapped in the finest paper with the largest bow.

When their team arrived at the restaurant, they were pleased to see they were alone in the establishment save for the workers. It was, after all, still early, and the breakfast crowd had yet to come. This particular restaurant was more casual than the traditional ones Mikoto often dragged them to. It was a good thing too since they are dressed in their ANBU uniforms.

At that moment, a cute waitress led them to their own table in a detached room. This was one of the perks of being a shinobi. The profession was regarded so highly among civilians, they were often given special treatment. While he didn't think he was anything special, it was nice being treated so kindly by most people.

Itachi sits directly across from him, while Muta sits at the end of the table. From the corner of his eye, he stares at the folder Itachi set on the table. He waits for his cousin to bring up the topic, but of course, he sits stiffly and silently and not at all broaching the subject.

"So…" Shisui hums. "Who are we going to choose as our medic?"

"I have yet to inspect the candidates." Itachi responds expressionless as he reads the menu to the restaurant instead.

"Hm."

Itachi's obsidian orbs meets his, attempting to interpret the meaning of his curt response. "Do you have a candidate in mind?"

"I might." His tone sounds disinterested. Itachi was smart but Shisui knew him well enough to fall off his radar. If he was too enthusiastic his cousin might catch on.

Itachi's eyebrow lifts inquisitively. "Whom?"

Shisui reaches for the folder and shuffles through the paperwork until he finds the pages of the candidates. After thoroughly looking through each of the pages, he realizes the one person he expects to see is absent from that list. He feels a flare of irritation rise in his chest.

"...not here," he mumbles and slides the folder toward his cousin. Itachi searches through the discarded folder, reads quickly through the names and short descriptions of each of the candidates.

"These are none of the medics you had in mind?" The younger Uchiha inquires, still inspecting the shinobi listed.

"No."

"Well, then whom did you have in mind?" Itachi's response, ebbing on the edge of curiosity.

"Definitely none of these medics." He says, not all meaning to sound condescending, but surely it comes out that way. Truthfully he doesn't think negatively about these medics on the list provided. Really, they were very well trained, but they aren't the medic he was looking for. How awfully frustrating.

"Shisui." Itachi sounds displeased. He was not someone who tolerates speaking negatively of others.

"Listen, Itachi. Migaki is a good medic, but we saw what happened last time. What if we were ambushed and we needed to be healed? We couldn't because our medic went down before we did. We can't rely on someone like that."

"It is curious that Migaki was assaulted so quickly." Muta adds.

Shisui mentally pats him on the back for his help. He could always count on Muta!

Itachi stares at him impassively. More than likely he is deliberating his team's input.

Good.

Regardless of his plan to hook his cousin up with a certain pink-haired medic, the situation with Migaki is discomforting. He never really trusted the man before, there was always something…off about him. Migaki trained and went on missions often, but there was no denying that compared to the rest of his team he paled in comparison. The man has some combat skill, but being their medic he is expected to fight only if he was the last living man of his team, yet he easily failed that task on their most recent mission.

The waitress walks over at that moment and takes their orders. They each order a light breakfast. They usually train early mornings and it was no good training on a full stomach. After taking their orders, the waitress walks off, leaving them to discuss their situation again.

"Do you have another suggestions?" Itachi queries once more. Certainly he caught on that Shisui has someone specific in mind.

"Perhaps Sasuke's teammate, Haruno Sakura." Shisui says with disinterest, but really he feels much glee at the thought.

"Haruno?" Itachi echoes, it was more of a statement than a question.

"She is one of the best medics in Konoha." Sakura, after all, is a bit of a legend around Konoha. The girl had begun working at the hospital when she only 14 years old. Shisui had the privilege of witnessing her in action a couple of times. She was truly remarkable. Shisui smiles. Haruno Sakura was really one of a kind.

After years of being with the same team, everything had become so monotonous and predictable. Migaki usually annoyed him with his arrogance. Muta was always nice but at times, a little creepy and Itachi... Oh, Itachi. Shisui loved his cousin and while he was intelligent and at times could be interesting, being around him for many years taught Shisui that sometimes it was more fun talking to a rock. Really the man could be such a bore sometimes. It would be nice to have Sakura as a new addition to their team. Not to mention she was more than nice to look at.

Muta nods in agreement. "She is a fine kunoichi, as well."

"So, have we made a decision?" Shisui asks enthusiastically.

"It is a notion we must discuss with the Yondaime." Itachi's lips thin in a line. He was not one to look for loopholes in protocol. If the Yondaime only provided them with specific candidates, then Itachi would only go with those suggested.

"I'm sure, he'll agree, Itachi. He is a reasonable man." Shisui turns his attention to their bespectacled teammate. "Muta, go send your bugs to tell the Hokage of our decision." He jokes. He was in a cheerful mood all of a sudden, strangely enough, the thought of the pink-haired kunoichi brightened his spirits.

"That is not possible." The Aburame chuckles and pushes up his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

"Why not?" He whines.

"You are anthropomorphizing insects," Itachi's baritone voice was almost mocking. It was times like this that Shisui was reminded that even Itachi had a sense of humor. Albeit a terrible one, but it was still there. He wasn't the scary shinobi everyone thought he was.

"Ok, fine. We'll talk to him after breakfast. But when he agrees, just like I say he will, you better come with me to inform her."

Itachi says nothing at that moment, but he knows his cousin accepts the challenge. Clearly, expecting the Hokage to deny Shisui's request. "Perhaps I should look at this list in the meantime."

"Don't bother."

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Sakura nearly jumps out of her skin when a loud thud shakes her from her slumber. There are a series of insistent knocks at her front door. Cursing loudly, she leaps off out of her tall bed and heads for the front door. Just her luck. The one day she can sleep in, some imbecile has to come and wake her up.

Cursing under her breath, Sakura opens the door to find a very vexed and disheveled Ino. There are blonde locks loose from her usually tight ponytail and streaks of dirt are smeared across her face and attire.

"You look awful, pig," Sakura remarks, taking in her friend's appearance as the blonde pushe her way into the apartment.

"You're one to talk, forehead. Shouldn't you be up and dressed? It's already 10 am."

Sakura looks down at her clothing and notices she is only wearing a large shirt she borrowed from Kakashi after a mission a couple of years ago. The shirt fits her almost the way it did back then. It was large and droopy and ends mid-thigh. Not to mention, holes formed in it from all the wear and tear it had sustained over the years.

"You look like an child wearing her fathers shirt." Ino teases.

Self-consciously, Sakura sweeps long strands of pink hair in front of her chest and wrapped her arms around her small breasts. Except for her petal colored hair and a few centimeters in height, she really hasn't grown anywhere since she was 16. She is still so very petite and it seems like she has no chance of ever growing. She curses her genes. While all her friends are developing into women, her appearance stayed the same for the most part.

Sakura guesses she should have expected as much, it was a trait she inherited from her mother, after all. Women at the hospital would always say, 'Oh don't worry, when you're older, you're going to be thrilled you look so young,' or 'Every man will jump at the chance to have such a youthful looking bride'. Blah, she heard it all and she was tired of it.

"Why are you here?" Her attention returns to her friend. It wasn't everyday Ino came in to visit, or judging by her irritated mood, bother her.

"I needed someone to vent to." Ino huffs and flops onto her beige couch. "That girl is just so awful!"

Sakura closes the door and sits on the arm of the her couch. She doesn't have to guess which girl Ino was talking about. "Karin?"

"Yeah. Her."

Karin Uzumaki had recently moved to the village a few months ago. Being one of the remaining Uzumaki and Kushina's second cousin, she moved to Konoha to live with her last remaining relatives. The girl had a loud mouth and could be rude at times, but she was helpful and quite skilled. Unfortunately, she didn't get along well with most of the other medics and she often got under their skin. Ino was a prime example of people who suffered from Karin Uzumaki's presence.

"What happened?"

The blonde lets out a long drawn out sigh, attempting to get her nerves under control.

"It's a long story. Let's just say it ended with me tumbling into a very large dirt pit." Sakura tries everything in her power not to laugh. The image of Ino rolling down a pit was just too amusing. She could practically see it, blonde hair whipping this way and that way. It certainly explains the dirt streaks on her clothing and messy hair.

The blonde crosses her arms. "Sakura, we need to do something about her."

"She's related to Kushina."

"Maybe if we get her a boyfriend or something, we can get her out of our hair."

"No. I'm not getting involved!" She waves her arms in protest. After Ino had persuaded, no, forced her into helping her play matchmaker for Choji, she would never get involved with anyone's love life again! The portly shinobi nearly destroyed a restaurant, when his very unfortunate date made a remark about his weight. She could only imagine how disastrous a date could be if Karin was involved.

"Besides, the only person she seems interested in is Sasuke." Sakura adds.

"No way! Not Sasuke." Ino nearly lunges at her, almost knocking her off the arm of the couch.

"You're with Shikamaru." Sakura informs her as if the blonde had already forgotten her relationship with the Nara genius. Though, it would be hard to forget something like that. After all, Sakura did have the displeasure of walking in on the pair half dressed and lying in a very compromising position. She shudders. The awful image is forever burned into her memories.

"That doesn't mean she should have Sasuke," The blonde shouts, "and don't give me that look, you had your strange fling with Kiba!"

"We never got as far as you and Shikamaru did!" The emerald eyed kunoichi shouts defensively. Her face burns from embarrassment. It was true she had some brief involvement with Kiba, it didn't last long and it didn't go very far, thankfully. He was funny and admittedly…has an amazing body, but he didn't challenge her intellectually and at times he could be rather immature. They had became closer friends as result of their brief romance, so she supposed it wasn't too bad of an result.

"Whatever." Ino shook her had. "It would be a disaster if she dated Sasuke."

"I just really think she loves Sasuke." Sakura shrugged.

"Who's in love with Sasuke?" A deep voice queried and she and Ino leapt like frightened felines. Quickly, they look over to where the voice was coming from and find none other than Uchiha Shisui peering into the window.

"Can I come in?" He asked, taking Sakura's stunned silence as a 'yes,' he hopped into the apartment through the window.

"Why are you here?" The emerald eyed medic demanded once she finally gained her composure.

"It's not just me." He beams, pointing behind him with his thumb. "Itachi's here too!" Sakura's countenance transitions from utter confusion to horror in an instant. Almost on cue, there is a slow knock at the door. Shisui walks to her front door, pulling it open to reveal the tall, older brother of her teammate.

"Uh…" She trails off, not sure what to make of his appearance. She felt comfortable enough around Shisui to talk to him as she did, but Itachi was a different story.

She had known Itachi ever since she was a young girl, but they only shared few words. He was just always so intimidating it seemed nearly impossible to have a proper chat with him. Admittedly, his distant personality had made her naturally curious about the man, but never enough to approach him, unless she absolutely had to, such as the few times he was admitted to the hospital. She just figured it was best if he remained an enigma.

Itachi nods at her and Ino in acknowledgement, before taking a short step into her apartment. "My apologies for my cousin's intrusion, as well as my own. May we have a moment of your time?" He asks in his smooth, baritone voice. It always amazed her how polite the older Uchiha sibling could be compared to his gruff younger brother. Truthfully, it wasn't hard to understand why they both had so many admirers.

"What is it?" She asks.

His dark eyes connect with her emerald ones. His gaze is so intense it suddenly makes her feel exposed. She clumsily tugs at the end of her shirt to cover the rest of her bare thighs. Just her luck, her two unlikely visitors would stop by when she and Ino looked like hell. Luckily neither of the Uchiha men had taken notice of what she or Ino was wearing. If it had been Naruto or Sai they would have made some immature comment by now and she would have punched them so hard they would have flown into Iwa. But as far she knew, Uchiha's could care less about anyone that wasn't in their clan. For once she was grateful for their haughty trait.

"We require a shinobi skilled in medicine to temporarily assist our squad."

"Yeah, Migaki was injured, so we're out a medic." Shisui adds, plucking an apple from the bowl of fruit on her table, before taking a large bite out of the juicy red fruit.

Once she realizes where the conversation is headed, her embarrassment subsides and her curiosity kicks in. There are several ANBU medics they could recruit. Not to mention she never applied for ANBU.

"Why me?"

Itachi takes no time to consider her question, it was as if he was waiting for it. "We had pondered over several choices for candidates and feel that you are the most advanced in your field of expertise."

"I see." She replies mindfully. This week had been strange. She often was complimented for her advanced abilities, but to be complimented by Uchiha Itachi, twice, within the last week was a new world record. If she wasn't blushing before, she definitely was now.

"So, do you accept?" Shisui asks, for some reason, he sounds very eager to hear her response.

Though the opportunity sounded good, she had other priorities she needs to sort out. She'd already been expected at the hospital this week and they could always find another medic. Right?

She feels a feeling nagging at her senses. Passing up this opportunity felt wrong. If she had learned anything from her time being a part of Team 7, it was that she should always strive for greater opportunities. Joining an ANBU squad was an opportunity she couldn't get everyday. Over the years it'd become difficult to join because there'd been no use for a copious amount of ANBU members. But still, she had high hopes for joining whenever the time needed it. After all she didn't train under a legendary Sannin for years, to simply never put her skills to use. She was a shinobi, it was in her blood to fight to help her village.

"You do not need to accept if you are unwilling or unable." Itachi says after her long bout of silence. It was as if he sensed she was facing an internal struggle.

"I just need some time to think about it." She responds.

"Your decision is not required presently. If you choose to cooperate with us, you have until tomorrow morning to report to the Hokage. Now if we may excuse ourselves." Itachi bows at his waist. "Thank you for your time." He says before leaving.

He really was an odd one.

"Can't wait to have you join us!" Shisui grins and follows after his cousin. Just as he is almost out of the door, the older Uchiha stops in his tracks and looks over to Ino. The blonde practically shrinks under his gaze, her blonde hair is strewn everywhere from her disastrous accident in the pit earlier that morning. "Ino, I like your hair like that." He says with a wide grin, leaving Ino completely mortified and Sakura chuckling at her poor friend's expense.

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Sakura meets with Naruto and Sasuke at Ichiraku's for lunch. Spending time together seldom ever comes, so whenever they do have the time, they usually spend it together.

"Sakura!" A familiar voice calls from behind her.

She whirls around and as she expected, Naruto is running towards her. Sasuke is in tow a few steps behind him. The blonde shinobi lifts her up in a bear hug before setting her back down.

The trio sits down at their usual spots at Ichiraku's. They each ordered a bowl of ramen and briefly Sakura wonders what Kushina would do if she knew Naruto was eating ramen instead of her cooking again.

The trio chatter amiably among themselves and luckily for Naruto in particular, Ayame, an Ichiraku waitress, hands them each their bowl of food moments later. Naruto being Naruto, doesn't hesitate to dive in. He practically inhales his entire first bowl in one gulp. Other patrons at Ichiraku stare at the blondes ramen consumption abilities with astonishment.

"When are you going to start working, Sasuke?" Naruto asks his dark haired best friend, with a mouth full of food.

"I should be transitioned into the position by the end of next week." Sasuke answers, his attention focused on the food in front of him, eating in his usual meticulous manner.

"Are you going to work longer hours, Sasuke?" Sakura questions before eating her own food. She hardly sees her team enough as it was, she could only imagine what it would be like once he started working (or once the Uchiha clan started pushing him towards marriage).

"My father says I will." The Uchiha confirms.

If she didn't know him as well as she did, she might think he sounded uninterested in his new position. But Sasuke answering questions so openly could only mean he was quite content with recent events. It made her feel extremely proud of her teammate. He worked so hard to get where he was and in such a short time he had come so far.

The group becomes silent as they begin to each eat their own bowl of ramen. Sitting together like this reminded her of how much time had passed since they were a team going on missions with Kakashi. These thoughts always made her feel nostalgic. It was a time they would never get back and as time went on they only drifted further apart. Maybe it was something that happened to everyone as they aged; after all it wasn't just their team that grew apart. It was a little selfish, but she hated that she couldn't see her friends as often as she used to. Hell, she hardly saw Sai, and couldn't remember the last time she saw Kakashi.

Their former teacher had gotten married while they were still a team. She had never seen him look so happy. Part of her always wondered if she would ever find a man that cared about her the way Kakashi cared about Rin.

As if on cue, a shock of silver hair slumps into the unoccupied stool by Sasuke.

"Kakashi sensei!" She and Naruto exclaimed in unison.

"Yo," He greets them kindly. Taking in his appearance, she notices he's dressed in civilian clothing. After all this time it still seems strange to see him dressed this way.

"How is my favorite team?" The older shinobi questioned.

"Great!" The Uzumaki shouts, "Sasuke got–" The Uzumaki's speech suddenly stopped as Sakura's hand lightly crashed into the back of his head, shutting him up from saying anything further. Naruto pouts but understands her reasoning for it. After all, it was Sasuke's news, no matter how excited Naruto was about it! With Naruto nursing his non-existent injury with exaggerated care, Sasuke informs their sensei about his very exciting news.

"Well done, Sasuke," Kakashi pats the Uchiha's back. It was weird almost, how much Kakashi had changed once he got married and had a child. He went from being late and sometimes lazy, to actually quite happy and open.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's tenor shakes her from her thoughts. "How are things with you?" She looks up to find her teammates staring at her with some curiosity. Truth be told, she really hadn't had much going on in her life. Things at the hospital were unusually slow, which she was grateful for because it meant less of her comrades were getting injured on missions but other than that not much at all. The event of her morning sprung in her mind. Itachi and Shisui had asked her to be the medic of their ANBU team. She hadn't accepted yet, but she was really considering it. In fact it was the only interesting thing that had occurred to her in months. She looks over at Sasuke who was eyeing her.

"Er, your brother and your cousin asked if I wanted to be their medic."

Sasuke almost drops his chopsticks at the revelation, while Naruto chokes on the noodles in his mouth. Fortunately, Kakashi hadn't reacted...or maybe that was unfortunate...

"WHAT!" her whiskered face teammate shouts so loudly that the Raikage in Kumo could probably hear him.

"What?" a pink brow springs up in irritation.

Sasuke says, "My brother, Itachi, asked you to be his squad's medic?"

"Yes."

"But you're not in ANBU..." Sasuke points out.

Obviously.

She couldn't tell how he felt about it. As far as she knew, Itachi and Sasuke hadn't spoke as much in recent days. She knew Sasuke greatly respected him but they weren't particularly close. She knew from Naruto, the younger Uchiha felt like he was always competing against Itach in their father's eyes.

It made her wonder if it bother him if she did or didn't join his brother's squad.l It was times like this when her teammate was completely unreadable.

"No, but your brother said he thought I'm more qualified than those on ANBU." She looks over to Naruto then, who is staring at her with widened eyes. "And your father thinks so too apparently, since he approved of it."

"Let me get this straight, My brother who has never been on a mission with you, let alone train with you, let alone has barely ever talked to you, asked you to be on his squad?" Sasuke asks incredulously.

"Yes, is that so hard to believe?"

"My brother, Itachi?" He asks again.

Sakura's mouth frowns increasingly so, her patience wearing thin. Now Sasuke was going too far. It really shouldn't be so hard to believe. She was known by almost everyone in Konoha for her advanced medical techniques. Hell, she was even becoming known in neighboring countries. It wasn't so far-fetched that Sasuke's stoic and distant brother had heard about her either. She didn't know Itachi well at all, but seeing as he was the clan's pride and excelled in just about everything he did, it wasn't surprising he would seek out the best people to be on his ANBU squad, even if it was a temporary arrangement.

"I don't see what the big deal is." She grits through her teeth.

"Do you know how dangerous ANBU is, Sakura?" The blonde finally pipes up after being silent for so long.

Naruto was not only her teammate but one of her closest friends. However, he had one of the most annoying qualities and that was being too overprotective of her. She isn't sure how it started, but at times it was overbearing.

"Stop right there, Naruto," she hisses vehemently. Her words are so poisonous the blonde stops talking immediately.

"When Sai received his ANBU position you congratulated him, when Sasuke received his Sergeant position, you congratulated him. Why is it when I get the chance to do an equally as dangerous job, you question my abilities?" She seethes.

"It's not like that, it's just-" Naruto tries to explain but Sasuke interrupts before he could mutter anything further.

"Shut it, Naruto." Sasuke looks at Sakura with an impassive expression. "Itachi overworks his squad when they already receives some of the harshest missions. In fact I've had Shisui complain to me about on several occasions. Do you think you're able to keep up with them?"

She sucks in a sharp breath. Is this how they truly felt about her? Have they forgotten about all the times she saved them from danger? She had defeated an Akatsuki member, for crying out loud! They couldn't actually be serious!

"You guys don't need to baby me!" Her green orbs dangerously flick toward Kakashi. He was silent during the entire exchange and she partially wondered if he was afraid of her little outburst. After all, she already scared the wits out of the other two idiots.

"I think it's a great opportunity, Sakura." Kakashi finally speaks after the intense silence. "You're a strong woman."

Sakura's gaze returned to her half-eaten ramen. Her appetite was gone now. Even though she felt comforted by her teacher's words, she still feels grieved by her teammates sudden doubt. She stands up from the stool and tosses money for her food on the counter.

"I need to go," she mutters, not making eye contact with her teammates. She hears them call for her, but before they could go after her Kakashi stops them.

"Itachi gives the harshest missions," Naruto said, making a very terrible impression of Sasuke. "Nice one."

"Shut it, you were the one who implied it was too dangerous for her." Sasuke retorts.

The two continue to squabble until Kakashi sighs loudly.

"You both are to blame."

After a disastrous lunch, she arrives at the hospital moments later. Her coworkers are surprised to see her seeing as she had the day off. She walks into her office and sits at her desk, shuffling through her work calendar. The next couple of weeks had actually looked dull. Really, it wouldn't be hard to pass her shifts onto someone else.

"What are you groaning about?" A very familiar voice questions and Sakura looks up to find bright red eyes peering into her own.

Karin.

"Nothing that matters to you." She mutters, her attention returning to the calendar on her desk.

"Yeah, probably not." The redhead admits. "But, I'm bored and I love hearing about your agony." Sakura groans and buries her head in her hands. What terrible timing. Normally she would keep her dilemma to herself and rarely vent to anyone, but why the hell not?

"After all this time, my team apparently thinks I'm helpless." She grumbles. Her speech slightly muffled from speaking into her hands.

"That's true." Sakura's head snaps up and she shoots the red head an annoyed glare. "Continue…"

The pink haired kunoichi sighs. "…I have the chance to join an ANBU squad, but I can't because I have duties to take care of at this hospital." She isn't sure why Karin is curious about her day or even listening but she doesn't care. All she knows is it feels good to rant to someone about her awful day. Even if it is Karin.

Karin leans toward her and flicks her nose, catching her off guard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" It took everything in Sakura's power not to break the girl's fingers.

"Don't yell at the person who's going to take your shifts!"

She feels her eyes widen at the remark. "You can't be serious—You're still in training."

Karin crosses her arms over her chest. "I've been training for months. I think I'm ready to handle a little workload."

"There's nothing little about my workload," She rolls her eyes, "...and why would you want to anyway? Last time I tried giving you my shifts, you said you weren't ready and you had a long way to go."

"I did have a long way to go, but a lot has changed since then." The girl adjusts her glasses.

"That was two weeks ago."

"I'm a changed person." Karin grins gleefully.

Sakura eyes her suspiciously. Something was up. She and Karin could tolerate each other, but the girl hardly went out of her way to do anything for anyone. If Karin offered to do this for her, she could only imagine what the redhead wanted in return.

"Why would you do this for me?"

"Can't a girl do something for a friend?" The Uzumaki smiles sweetly.

"We've known each other for months and you've never taken my shifts before, why now?"

Karin stretchs her arm out and looks at her newly polished nails. The red coating was as vibrant as her hair and eyes. "A favor for a favor."

She should have expected that. "What do you want?"

"Oh, Sakura, why do you assume I want something now?"

"Because this is a big favor I'd be asking of you. There has to be something that you want. What is it?" Sakura eyes her carefully. She wasn't exceptional about reading people but she had a little grasp on the girl in front of her. Her actions definitely said that what she wanted was quite huge.

"It's just that... I've just been in Konoha for half a year already and I haven't met any bachelor's worthy of my presence." The girl trails off.

The realization dawned on Sakura. Of course. Why didn't she think of it sooner?

"You want me to hook you up with Sasuke?" It was a rhetorical question, however. Of course the redhead wanted her assistance in pairing her up with her Uchiha teammate. No female besides his mother was closer to Sasuke than she was. Karin knew of her close relationship with him and it only made sense to ask the girl that was closest to him because there was no way her distant cousin, Naruto, would be competent enough to do so.

"No way. Not a chance!" She learned her lesson last time she and Ino played matchmaker.

"If that's what you want, Sakura. I hope you find someone who will take your shifts."

Sakura watches as the redhead walks out of her office.

When the girl was finally out of view, Sakura's eyes wander back to her calendar. Really, her shifts were quite easy, it wouldn't be difficult to find someone else who could take her shifts, right? She rests her head in her hands and doodles on her calendar.

Truth be told she was a little more than intrigued that Itachi had chosen her out all the possible medics. He was regarded as one of the best shinobi in Konoha, and yet he wanted her on his squad. The fact that he had thought highly enough of her skills was a bit of a ego boost. It might be a temporary arrangement but the thought of working in such an advanced squad was intriguing and the more she thought about it, the more it felt right.

His team was sent all over the world for important missions and see more of the worlod was she sought for. Especially after her mother's accident. That moment had changed everything. She'd learned that life was fleeting and in a moment the world could change.

This was something she really needed to do. Her mother would want her to move on.

Decision made, there was just one more thing she had to do.

She didn't like the idea of hooking up her teammate with Karin, or hooking up anyone in general, but after the way he spoke to her that morning, he owed her this. Sakura shot straight to her feet and sprinted out of the door.

"Karin, wait!"